"What's going on?" Brittany rolled down her car window halfway and looked ahead to see a long line of cars in front of the Hilton Hotel. "Is it always this congested?"
The driver looked forward and replied, "It seems there's an event at the hotel today."
Brittany glanced at her wristwatch, her face showing urgency as she muttered under her breath, "Matthew is still waiting! It's already past our agreed time!"
It had been a long time since the two had seen each other. Brittany had hurried back to Los Angeles from out of town to meet Matthew at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, only to find a major event at the hotel today, causing a massive traffic jam in front of the hotel.
After waiting for another five minutes, Brittany could no longer wait. She opened the car door and said to the driver, "I'm going to go ahead."
"Miss Spears..."
Before the driver could finish his sentence, Brittany had already closed the door behind her.
In her rush, Brittany didn't bother with sunglasses or a sun hat. Although it was only nine in the morning, the sun was scorchingly hot, adding to her irritation. Fortunately, she had an umbrella with her, which she opened and walked towards the Hilton Hotel. Barely forty meters out, she heard someone calling her from behind.
"Brittany..." a man's voice called from behind, "Brittany, this way!"
Hearing the call, Brittany instinctively looked back, only to see the window of an SUV roll down and camera lenses appear, with the sound of shutters clicking in rapid succession.
Brittany immediately realized she had encountered paparazzi or a reporter and turned to walk away.
The reporter in the car hadn't expected his luck to be so good, to encounter Brittany in front of the Hilton Hotel. However, a few photos weren't very valuable, as Brittany had been constantly in the news and images from her concerts were everywhere.
Nevertheless, he quickly remembered the widely publicized feud between Brittany and Christina Aguilera from last year and loudly asked, "Brittany, Christina Aguilera won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocalist at the last Grammy Awards. What do you think?"
The question hit a sore spot, not only delivering a fatal blow but also carrying infinite mockery. Brittany immediately stopped, turned around, and walked towards the reporter's car.
The weather was hot, her mood was irritated, and being provoked by the reporter about the last thing she wanted to hear, she couldn't control her emotions and exploded.
Brittany folded her umbrella, glanced at the pointed metal tip, then at the car in front of her, ready to give the reporter a piece of her mind...
"Miss Spears!"
Suddenly, a familiar shout came from afar. Brittany recognized it as Matthew's voice and instinctively stopped, turning to look. She saw a man wearing ordinary sunglasses running towards her.
Matthew also encountered traffic and had to park his second-hand Ford in a nearby parking lot, walking over. He had seen Brittany's car on the way and hurried after asking the driver, just in time to see Brittany being provoked by the reporter and immediately intervened to stop her.
Running over quickly, Matthew shielded Brittany like a bodyguard and walked her towards the hotel. Seeing Matthew, Brittany immediately forgot about teaching the reporter a lesson.
"Damn!" the reporter cursed under his breath. "That idiot Brittany was about to fall for it, and then that damn bodyguard shows up!"
He instinctively raised his camera and took a few more shots of Brittany and the bodyguard's retreating backs, figuring the news would be worth something.
"Shh..." Matthew made a silencing gesture.
Brittany thought Matthew was trying to cheer her up, closed her mouth, and followed him into the Hilton Hotel.
"How did you come from behind?" Brittany looked eagerly at Matthew as he led her to the elevator, "I encountered a traffic jam, so I parked elsewhere and walked over."
As the elevator arrived, Brittany followed Matthew in, saying, "Me too, it's so annoying."
Recalling the incident, Matthew asked, "Dear, what happened just now?"
"That reporter spoke ill of me!" Brittany said angrily. "He mentioned Christina Aguilera winning two Grammys..."
She vividly described the encounter and what she had wanted to do but didn't.
Exiting the elevator on their floor, Matthew's room was nearby. They entered, and without wasting any time, they began to tear off each other's clothes, eagerly making up for lost time.
Having not seen each other for so long, they quickly made their physical distance negative, spending the entire day in the room, passionately releasing their pent-up desires.
Eventually, too exhausted to continue, Matthew and Brittany took a shower and lounged on the suite's couch, sharing their experiences over the past few months.
They had spent more time together today than they had in the past half year combined.
As they talked, the conversation shifted back to the morning's events.
"That reporter was so annoying!" Brittany was still upset. "If it weren't for you holding me back, I would have shown him!"
Matthew frowned slightly, knowing how provocative reporters could be, but Brittany's reactions sometimes baffled even him.
He took Brittany's hand, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Dear, have you considered what would happen if you had attacked the reporter with your umbrella?"
Brittany, lying lazily on Matthew, shook her head, "I didn't think about it. I just wanted to make him regret it!"
Matthew felt somewhat defeated but patiently explained, "Think about it now."
"Now that I think about it," Brittany said after pondering for a while, "the reporter would take a photo, and it would be in the newspapers tomorrow?"
"Exactly." Matthew kissed her forehead and explained, "The media would cover the incident extensively, damaging the reputation and image you've worked so hard to build. There might even be behind-the-scenes manipulations to further tarnish your reputation."
Brittany's thought process was hard for most to follow, but she quickly said, "Christina Aguilera would definitely do that!" Her voice rose, "That bitch is also attending the MTV Music Awards, and I know she's staying at this hotel!"
Matthew nodded but didn't respond directly to Brittany's speculation about the reporter being instigated by Aguilera, instead focusing on advising her, "Dear, acting like that would bring you a lot of trouble."
Feeling wronged, Brittany asked, "Then what should I do?"
Matthew gently stroked her blonde hair, comforting her while advising, "Ignore them! Don't let the reporters' words provoke you."
"But..." Brittany looked up at Matthew, "Their questions really make me angry."
"They're just clowns looking up at the queen," Matthew reassured her, wanting to protect Brittany from future media manipulations. "You're a noble queen. Does a queen need to pay attention to clowns? In front of clowns, a queen only needs to show her most proud and beautiful side."
After a moment, Brittany said, "I think I understand."
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief, having gone above and beyond in his explanation.
"Don't worry," Brittany reassured him, understanding Matthew's point, and kissed him. "I won't be provoked by reporters anymore."
She got up to find her clothes, "Let's go eat, I'm hungry."
Matthew also started dressing, "I heard the steak here is good, let's go to the second-floor restaurant."
Dressed, they took the elevator to the second floor. The restaurant was not crowded, with many seats empty. Matthew chose a spot near the glass curtain wall and had just ordered their meal when his phone rang.
The caller was Helen Herman, likely about work. Matthew excused himself to Brittany and walked to a quiet corner near the restroom to answer.
Helen Herman informed him that the "Fast & Furious" production team had sent a formal email notification for him to join the crew for some training in a few days.
"I understand."
Matthew hung up, visited the restroom, and upon returning to their table, found a blonde woman with a rebellious demeanor confronting Brittany, looking like mortal enemies.
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